Softball Game Preview: Palmetto Ridge Bears vs. Old Forge Blue Devils

The Palmetto Ridge Bears will challenge the Old Forge Blue Devils at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Last Friday, Palmetto Ridge got the win against Naples by a conclusive 14-6. The Bears might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by eight runs or more this season.

Karsyn Walters and Tessa Delashmet made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Walters tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Delashmet struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off two hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. At the plate, Walters scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Delashmet scored a run while going 3-for-5.

Skyler Howell

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/21/25 @ Naples	3
03/06/25 @ Lely	2
03/03/25 vs Ida Baker	2
02/20/25 vs Barron Collier	2
03/28/24 vs Naples	2

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Skyler Howell, who scored four runs while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (three). Rebecca Razzano was another key player, scoring four runs while going 2-for-4.

Palmetto Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Old Forge made easy work of Naples on Wednesday and carried off a 14-4 victory.

Old Forge let Joselyn DeStefano and Kate O'Hearn run wild. DeStefano scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while O'Hearn scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Juliette DeStefano, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double.

The win got Palmetto Ridge back to even at 5-5. As for Old Forge, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.